This invention relates to an automatic assembling apparatus for assembling a plurality of parts to an article.
An assembling apparatus has been previously proposed for assembling a plurality of automobile parts such as a roof lining, a rearview mirror, a cabin lamp, etc., to a car body, wherein an assembling jig carrying these parts is connected to an arm of a robot, and the assembling jig is then moved by operation of the robot from a setting site to an assembling site and inserted into the cabin of the car body placed at the assembling site to assemble these parts which were set in advance on the assembling jig to the cabin ceiling portion of the car body.
Generally in an automatic assembling apparatus, it is usual that parts are set on a setting jig placed at a setting site while the assembling step is being performed at an assembling site. When the assembling jig is returned to the setting site, those parts set on the setting jig are transferred onto the assembling jig. In such an assembling apparatus as the above-mentioned one for assembling parts to the cabin ceiling portion, however, it is necessary to set relatively small-sized parts such as the rearview mirror, the cabin lamp, etc. placed underneath a roof lining or the large-sized part, so that it is difficult to have the setting jig hold the small-sized parts in place thereon because the roof lining is obstructive in this case.
In the apparatus proposed, therefore, the small-sized parts and the roof lining to be placed above them are set directly on the assembling jig when it is returned to the setting site. In this arrangement, however, the time required to carry out the setting step constitutes a time loss which is detrimental to a further improvement in productivity.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention has for its object to provide an automatic assembling apparatus that enables the assembling step to be performed efficiently without such a time loss resulting from the setting step even when no setting jig is used.